Karen Smith serenading Seretse Small at the award ceremony for the Bureau of Standards held at the Pegasus on Thursday October 12, 2006. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer

That frown is on the face, since 1995, of Griot Music, but at the moment it is a weather watcher. And with good reason, as behind Small, Dennis Rushton is warming up on the keyboard, Nino DiLorreto of New Era Productions and other technical staff is at the ready and a camera is covered, on a stand.

It is the second day of recording for 'Jazz 876', a 13 series live music programme that will begin its run on Comcast in South Florida in early August and the intermittent rain is holding up the process.

"From the beginning of Griot Music we wanted to do television," Small said. "And when we met Nino DiLoretto through the 'Legacy' show (staged in May at the Windsor House, Caymanas Estate) we took the opportunity."

Double takes

Recording had started on Saturday evening at RedBones the Blues Café, Braemar Avenue, New Kingston, with Mickey Hanson and Kathy Brown. Guitarist Fitzroy Bennett was also slated to perform on Sunday and the double takes continued on Monday with John Williams and Alexander Martin-Blanken at Forres Park, Mavis Bank. Tuesday night was slated to be a marathon at Christopher's, The Quad, New Kingston, with steelpan player Dean Barnett & Friends, Kamala Hamilton, Seretse & the True Democrats, Ozou'ne, Pam Hall and Courik Clarke.

It will be familiar ground for some of the performers, as Small said the first step in selecting performers for the television series "was to look at the guys who performed at Christopher's (in a live music series run by Griot Music).

It is Sunday afternoon and Seretse Small is standing on the patio at the eastern side of Devon House, Hope Road, St. Andrew, looking through the drizzle at the dark sky over the hills behind Papine. He does not have a guitar in his hands, which are poised on his hips at a telling angle, matching his frown.

- Mel Cooke

Seretse Small performing at the award ceremony for the Bureau of Standards held at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Thursday, October 12, 2006. He points to a sense of arrogance among musicians. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer